The Gujarat home department on Thursday transferred the superintendents of police of Botad and Ahmedabad and suspended six other cops following the death of 42 people after consumption of spurious liquor, an official said.
The toll due to consumption of spurious liquor in the Malad area of Mumbai climbed to 94 with the death of four more persons on Sunday.
After visiting those being treated at Villupuram government medical college hospital, Chief Minister MK Stalin told reporters Villupuram that investigation into the matter would be transferred to the CB-CID and he assured tough action.
The death toll from the illicit liquor tragedy, which struck parts of Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, rose to 156 on Wednesday even as fresh cases were reported at Malur in Kolar district of Karnataka. As authorities continued with their crackdown on bootlegging, two people, who consumed the hooch in Malur on Tuesday evening, died in the early hours of Wednesday, police said.Eight police personnel, including two sub-inspectors, have been placed under suspension.
The toll in the hooch tragedy in Lucknow and Unnao districts climbed to 38 on Tuesday with the death of seven more persons even as the state excise commissioner was removed in connection with the incident and a state-wide crackdown launched by police against sale of spurious liquor.
The prime suspect in the illicit liquor tragedy, which claimed 170 lives in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu, reportedly committed suicide while the kingpin of the hooch trade, Sounder Rajan, was arrested with his wife and daughter-in-law, the police said on Thursday. Investigations took a new turn in the liquor tragedy case as the police recovered the body of Mustu alias Mushtaq from Bangalore Rural district's Kattigenahalli, who reportedly committed suicide by consuming poison
Around 30 people are still undergoing treatment at various government hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad, Barvala and Dhandhuka, officials said.
An ex-gratia compensation of Rs 2 lakh has been announced for each for the families of those killed.
Accused Rishi Sharma, who carried a reward of Rs 1 lakh on his arrest, was held near Bulandshahr border in western Uttar Pradesh.
The condition of over two dozen people admitted in various hospitals in Etah and Saifai, after they consumed the spurious liquor, was stated to be critical.
Nearly 50 people were still admitted to hospitals in Bhavnagar, Botad and Ahmedabad.
Police said they have made five arrests in the incident. Those arrested have been identified as Prabhjit Singh, the main accused, Kulbir Singh, Sahib Singh, Gurjant Singh and Ninder Kaur, they said.
Chief Minister Amarinder Singh suspended seven excise officials and six policemen, officials said.
Families, torn apart by the Malvani hooch tragedy, where 104 people lost their lives confront a dark and hopeless future.
This is the second liquor tragedy in this district in recent days.
Bharatiya Janata Party leaders have been claiming that "more than 100 people" have died. Most media reports have put the death toll to be more than 50.
Wails of grief shook West Bengal's Sangrampur and neighbouring villages as the toll in the state's worst-ever illicit liquor tragedy shot up to 143 amid fears that this may rise further with over 100 victims including labourers, rickshaw-pullers and hawkers battling for life.
The killer brew claimed 16 lives in Hebbagodi, Attibele and Sarjapur in Anekal taluk bordering Tamil Nadu, where several people had consumed the illicit liquor on Monday, police said.
Defending the liquor ban in Bihar, he said that the state's prohibition policy has benefitted several people and a large number of people have given up drinking alcohol due to his measures.
With two more deaths being reported on Saturday in the state's worst-ever hooch tragedy in West Bengal, the toll rose to 173, officials said.
'Karur could still impact Jana Nayagan's box-office success if Vijay and the TVK do not get their act together,' points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
The ghastly hooch tragedy has struck Karnataka once again and this time it has claimed 86 lives. The deadliest tragedy occurred in Karnataka in 1981 in which 323 people lost their lives after consuming spurious liquor. There have been five such incidents, including this one, after the 1981 fiasco and ironically in none of the incidents, have the police managed to make any headway where the investigations are concerned.
Deaths in the worst-ever hooch tragedy in West Bengal continued unabated on Friday with the toll touching 171 amidst fears of more casualties as authorities suspended the excise officer-in-charge for dereliction of duty.
The death toll in the Malad hooch tragedy on Saturday climbed to 84 even as the Excise department suspended four of its officials in connection with the incident.
With 14 more persons succumbing to illness caused by spurious liquor, the death toll in Odisha hooch tragedy mounted to 19 today prompting the state government to order a judicial probe into the episode.
At least seven persons died and 10 others were admitted to different hospitals after consuming spurious liquor at Rojid village in Botad district of Gujarat, a senior police officer said on Monday.
Rijiju's meeting with Bandyopadhyay came against the backdrop of the Opposition alliance's decision to pull out its members from the panel of chairpersons that will assist Mahtab in conducting the proceedings of the Lok Sabha till the election of the Speaker on Wednesday.
A reference to Morbi bridge collapse of Gujarat was on Friday made inside the Bihar assembly by Chief Minister Nitish Kumar who alleged that states not ruled by Bharatiya Janata Party got an unfair portrayal in the media.
The death toll in the hooch tragedy in Mumbai has climbed to 41 while the condition of 24 victims continued to be critical even as three persons were arrested and eight cops suspended.
An amendment bill is likely to be tabled in the next session of the assembly in February.
The government has not divulged the amount of the fine to be imposed on first-time offenders.
Four persons were sentenced to life imprisonment and 15 others sent to jail for two years by a local court for supplying spurious liquor to a group of people as a result of which 87 people had died in a suburb here in 2004.
Four times more liquor has been seized in the 2024 election than during the 2019 polls.
So far, the maximum 83 deaths have taken place in Tarn Taran district, followed by 14 in Batala and 13 in Amritsar. The tragedy has been unfolding since Wednesday evening in the three districts.
A court in New Delhi on Thursday extended the Enforcement Directorate custody of Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal till April 1 in the excise policy case.
'If somebody wants to finish the country and more particularly from the border state, they will start with the borders. Every extra caution should be taken to save the country. Tell your government to be very serious. They have to take every effort to save the country, it is very easy to ruin the youth'
In focus are the assembly polls in 2026. From a BJP perspective, their attack on the ruling DMK, using the 'Hindutva' card, and Annamalai's targeting of both Dravidian majors on corruption has not worked, points out N Sathiya Moorthy.
In one of the worst hooch tragedies in West Bengal, 57 people, mostly labourers, rickshaw-pullers and hawkers, died and over hundred have been hospitalised in serious condition after consuming illicit liquor at Mograhat in South 24 Parganas district on Wednesday.
Rejecting suggestions by President Pratibha Patil to modify Gujarat Control of Organised Crime bill, the Narendra Modi led Bharatiya Janata Party's government on Tuesday re-introduced the bill which was passed by the state assembly.
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